A swing of the general type usually comprises a seat suspended from an overhead support by a pair of flexible hangers such as chains or ropes.
This type of swing is generally not suitable for swinging in a standing position for a number of reasons. First of all, the flexible hangers usually serve unsatisfactorily as handles for a rider who stands on the seat. Further, when the hangers are used as handles, the swing tends to operate poorly because the strain imposed on the hangers causes them to flex or bend. Additionally, while swinging, the seat can tilt abruptly thereby making it difficult for a rider in a standing position to maintain his balance. Moreover, the seat is sometimes made of flexible material making it dangerous to stand on during use.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,642,740, to Mitchell discloses a swing in which rigid, rather than flexible, hangers are used. These hangers are pivotally connected to an overhead support and the seating platform is both flat and rigid. Also, ample clearance is provided between the platform and the overhead support to enable a rider to stand on the platform when the swing is in motion if he so desires. The Mitchell swing also differs from the general type described above in that, during swinging, its seating platform ascends and descends while remaining in a plane that remains generally parallel to the ground.
For a swing of the general type, the rider, whether sitting or standing, is positioned between the two hangers facing the direction in which the swing seat moves forward. The Mitchell swing rider is encouraged to sit sideways and look in the direction perpendicular to that in which the seating platform pendulates; when the rider does choose to stand on the platform, the construction of that swing induces him to face in the direction toward which the platform moves, holding to an overhead frame member or on to adjacent hangers as on a conventional swing.
To our knowledge, there is no swing designed especially to simulate a surfboard ride. That is, what is needed is a swing which not only enables one to stand on a pendulating platform sideways comfortably during the ride, but which also changes the angle or tilt of the platform relative to the ground gradually and smoothly in the manner of a surfboard on water.